From startups to unicorns: India’s journey towards Unicorn 2.0

In the period spanning from 2016 to the present, India’s landscape has seen the emergence of over 100 unicorns alongside approximately 100,000 startups, as per the CII report ‘Unicorn 2.0: Adding the next trillion’. These entities have played a pivotal role in bolstering economic expansion, contributing a significant 10 to 15 per cent to GDP growth.
Additionally, they have fostered inclusivity by spearheading rapid digitization across rural and urban sectors, thereby generating 20 to 25 per cent of all new employment opportunities. Furthermore, these ventures have democratized consumption patterns by facilitating broader access to an array of products and services.

The existing influential unicorn and startup ecosystem, often referred to as “Unicorn 1.0,” lays the groundwork for the evolution towards “Unicorn 2.0.” This next phase holds the potential to contribute an additional $1 trillion to India’s economy by the year 2030.
In its entirety, such a landscape would lead the way in disruptive innovation and establish a guiding principle for governance. It would flourish with a diverse investor ecosystem and a pool of highly skilled and experienced talent.

To actualize this vision, initiatives across five key themes are proposed: enhancing domestic funding opportunities, revamping governance structures, fostering an enabling regulatory environment, promoting a culture of widespread innovation, and nurturing talent for employability.

These interventions have the potential to expedite the development of Unicorn 2.0, culminating in a robust and influential startup ecosystem that catalyzes transformative growth for the nation.